The field of this invention relates to beverage cans and more particularly to the aluminum type of beverage can which has integrally incorporated therein an opening device known as a pop-top of the anti-litter type.
Billions of aluminum cans are produced annually for the packaging of beer, soda and other beverages. It is common that these cans include a frangible tab within its top surface. Associated with the frangible tab is a pivotable handle. The handle is to be pivoted by the user to cause breakage of the frangible seal between the tab and the top of the can and cause the tab to deflect inwardly to the interior of the can exposing an aperture through which the contents of the beverage can can now be dispensed.
Most beverage cans are in the range of twelve ounces. Many times a consumer will not wish to consume twelve ounces of the beverage at a single sitting. A great number of beverages are under pressurization. Therefore, if the beverage is left exposed, for even a short period of time to the atmosphere, this pressurization will be lost with the result that the beverage will then become "flat". When a beverage has become "flat", the taste of the beverage is affected. Therefore, in a great many instances, if an individual does not consume all of the beverage at a single sitting, the unconsumed amount is merely discarded. Although beverage manufacturers certainly do not object to this increased consumption of the beverage, it still constitutes a waste.
At the present time, we are in an era of energy conservation. Therefore, if the unconsumed contents of a beverage can be saved to be consumed at a later time, inherently there will also be a saving of energy. Energy will be required to produce only the beverage that is consumed by the user and not discarded.
In order to avoid the discarding of the beverage, it is only necessary to find some way to reseal the beverage after a portion of the contents of the beverage has been consumed. In the past, it has been known to redesign the "pull-tab" devices of beverage cans so that in some way the pull-tab can be used to reseal the aperture that is produced within the beverage container. A common form of such device is to include a protruding section in association with the handle that is used to affect the breaking of the frangible seal. When it is desired to reseal the aperture, the handle is pivoted over the aperture with this protrusion being tightly pressed into the aperture forming an airtight seal. However, these types of resealing devices have not achieved any significant market acceptance. It is believed that the reasons that market acceptance has been lacking is that the devices are complicated and inherently expensive, therefore, significantly increasing the cost of the beverage container to the consumer. Also, such devices are somewhat complicated to operate and at times may be difficult to operate by older people or people with arthritis or other afflictions. Still further, once the beverage can is resealed, the pressure within the can tends to increase. It is common that this increase in pressure will be sufficient to cause the resealing device to be disengaged from the aperture thereby again exposing the contents of the beverage container to the atmosphere.